coop

¹

[koop, koop]

noun

1. an enclosure, cage, or pen, usually with bars or wires, in which fowls or other small animals are confined for fattening, transportation, etc.

2. any small or narrow place.

3. Slang.,  a prison.

4. Sometimes Facetious.,  a cooperative, especially the cooperative bookstore of a college or university.

verb (used with object)

1. to place in or as if in a coop; confine narrowly (often followed by up orin ).

verb (used without object)

1. Slang.,  (of a police officer) to park and sleep inside one's patrol car while on duty.

coop.

²

Or co-op

abbreviation

1. cooperative.

coop

¹

/ kuːp /

noun

1. a cage or small enclosure for poultry or small animals

2. a small narrow place of confinement, esp a prison cell

3. a wicker basket for catching fish

verb

1. (tr; often foll by up or in) to confine in a restricted area

coop

²

/ ˈkəʊˌɒp /

noun

1. a cooperative, cooperative society, or shop run by a cooperative society

coop

³

abbreviation

1. a cooperative

coop.

⁴

abbreviation

1. cooperative

Other Word Forms

• uncoop verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of coop¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English coupe “basket,” perhaps from Scandinavian or ultimately from Latin cūpa “cask, tub” ( cup ( def. ) ); cognate with Norwegian kaup “wooden can,” Old English cȳpa “basket”

Word History and Origins

Origin of coop¹

C15: probably from Middle Low German kūpe basket, tub; related to Latin cūpa cask, vat

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. fly the coop, to run off; depart abruptly; escape.

   We stopped to see my sister, but she'd flown the coop.

see fly the coop.

Example Sentences

They also advise that locals keep vehicles free of food, lock doors and windows, and use electric fencing to protect beehives and chicken coops.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“We shall have to pay a call on Dr. Westminster, the Swanburne veterinarian. However, I must be careful not to leave the children unsupervised near the chicken coop.”

Read more on Literature

Residents report bears rummaging through trash, raiding chicken coops and—like any good Southern Californian—dipping into backyard pools.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

You had an M.B.A. and were living in a chicken coop without running water.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Like John le Carré, he creates his own jargon: safe houses are “coops,” spycraft is “artifice,” freelance agents are “units” and deep-cover moles are “termites.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal